Module 11 – Complete your exhibition

🔍Overview

Congratulations! You are in the home stretch. Now that you have completed your Buddy Check, it is time to start getting ready for your exhibition. This is a synchronous online meeting (meaning everyone in the meeting will be online at the same time) to discuss your portfolio and several classmates’ portfolios. This will be the last round of feedback before you submit your portfolio for final grading.

The Module 11 video will talk you through the key points of your exhibition and show a sample exhibition so you know what to expect. This video should help you to prepare, and we think it is worth taking the extra time to check out.

Activities in this module are due by Aug 7th (at or before 11:59pm Eastern Time).

💎Shinies

Why a synchronous exhibition?

Our exhibitions are based on the design studio concept, which is an opportunity to come together and share work that you have done, allowing us all to celebrate your accomplishments. Additionally, this offers a last round of feedback before you submit your portfolio to be graded.

We find that meeting synchronously, online, using the Coffeehouse allows for issues to be addressed that might not otherwise come up in Piazza, D2L, or email, for example. We also hope that you will enjoy getting to talk and share with your classmates while actually seeing them.

In the online format, we have found that 4 students (sometimes 3) allows for the best quality of interaction and exchange of ideas without needing many hours of your time. Having four more sets of eyes (three students and an instructor) help you look at your portfolio will hopefully give you a chance to address any lingering issues and get a range of opinions for future directions.

How can I prepare for my exhibition?

We do not intend for the exhibition to be a particularly nerve-wracking event. Nonetheless, students often let us know they are feeling quite nervous before their exhibition. Rest assured, these exhibitions are meant to be relaxed and supportive. [Read more about it here]

🔗Mission 1

Overview – Your exhibition

In the exhibition, you will join three other students and an instructor (although these numbers may change in some scenarios) in the Capstone Coffeehouse, where you completed your Tech Check. During the 90-minute exhibition everyone will have a chance to present various parts of their portfolio and provide feedback to others. To best prepare for your exhibition, complete the following steps:

Verify your time

Make sure you know what time you signed up for during Module 9. Check the schedule document. Remember that these times are all Eastern time. Please take care if you live or are traveling outside of Eastern time.

Where do I go?

Exhibitions are held in the Capstone Coffeehouse. You can get there via the “Join Coffeehouse” button on the right side of the course homepage or any module homepage below the list of modules. Note that this is the same way you joined office hours and/or completed the Tech Check.

When should I show up?

Join the Coffeehouse at least 5-10 minutes before your scheduled start time to make sure that you are able to connect and that everything is working fine.

One reason we require the Tech Check is to ensure that you had the opportunity to download Zoom and get familiar with the Coffeehouse prior to the exhibition. If you have completed the tech check, you’re fine.

If you haven’t completed your Tech Check, you should read about it here and then try to join the Coffeehouse to test it out (it’s not the same without someone on the other end, but it’s a start).

If you do experience any trouble getting into the Coffeehouse, please email us right away so we can help you get in and we know you are trying to do so.

What happens during the exhibition?

The exhibition will last approximately 90 minutes, and will be structured as follows:

Introduction, overview, and instructions by the instructor (5-10 minutes)

Portfolio exhibition – each presenter will take around 15 minutes to present their portfolio to the Coffeehouse attendees, including:

A statement about your intended audience for this portfolio (1-2 minutes)

A walkthrough and talkthrough of the page you are most proud of, with the reasons why (2-3 minutes)

A walkthrough and talkthrough of the page you would like the most feedback or help thinking about, and the reasons why (3-5 minutes)

The instructor will pick a page for you to talk and walk through (3-5 minutes)

Wrap up from instructor, congratulations, and any questions (5-10 minutes)

What happens if something goes wrong?

Here are a few tips for what to do in the case of temporary connection or other problems before or during the exhibition.

A successful exhibition is built on communication between all involved. If something goes wrong for you at the scheduled time of the exhibition (such as your computer crashes, power goes out, etc.), please email us right away. In the rare event that you are unable to contact us during the exhibition, contact us as soon as you are able. We will give you an alternate Mission to complete that is approximately equivalent in effort to the exhibition.

Please note that getting temporarily “kicked out” of the Coffeehouse during the exhibition does occasionally happen. If this happens to you, simply log back in again and, again, contact us with any questions.

🔗Mission 2

Post in Piazza

Some time after your exhibition (we recommend between 4 and 48 hours after you’re done), please reply to the Module 11 thread in Piazza with your exhibition reflection. We ask that you write two or three thoughtful paragraphs about your experiences and thoughts after having participated in your exhibition day activities. You may want to comment on the following:

How prepared were you for the event?

How worthwhile was the exhibition?

Do you have any suggested improvements for future exhibitions?

Have you thought about using the exhibition in your own work or classroom? Keep in mind that an exhibition doesn’t have to be in an online format!

In the spirit of inviting one’s friends and family to a face-to-face exhibition, we would be interested in hearing from anyone who has considered or actually shown their portfolio to family, friends, or colleagues, or plans to do so now that your program is coming to an end.

For this module, you do NOT need to provide feedback/responses to any of your housemates in Piazza.

Important – Powerup Due

Your third and final Powerup should be completed at this point. If you haven’t finished them yet, please do so ASAP as we will be grading them at the conclusion of this module. More details about Powerups, including a list of all possible Powerups and full details on the timing of Powerups, is available here.

Posting your Powerups in Piazza

If you have completed a new Powerup then post about it in Piazza by doing the following:

Go to your house in Piazza

If this is your first Powerup, find the post called “Powerup #1!”, if this is your second Powerup find “Powerup #2!”, and if this is your third (or fourth, or fifth…) find “Powerup #3!”.

Post a reply to the post with the following

The Web address of your Powerup.

A paragraph explaining why you chose to complete this particular Powerup.

If this is your second or third Powerup, please include how you see it relating to previous Powerups and the overall shape and development of your portfolio.

Anything you’d like your housemates to pay particular attention to.

Just as for our regular weekly postings, give feedback to two others. Give preference to those who have little or no feedback yet (of course, this is all subject to the Bonuses and Bummers Policy).

📊Grades

Grading rubric for this module

Each Mission in this course is important for developing your abilities to design and implement your portfolio. Recall that there are 100 total points assigned in this course; the specific Mission(s) in this module will count towards your grade as follows:

(4 points) – Exhibition – Up to four points will be given for timely arrival and thorough participation in the entire exhibition.

(1 point) – Piazza Post – Up to one point will be given for reflecting on your experience in the exhibition as described in the Mission 2 tab.

We encourage you to check out others’ exhibition experiences; however, no feedback is needed or requested of you this module.

Advice and help about course grades

Check grades early and often! This will help you understand your progress in the course and will help us correct any errors as soon as possible.

Pay attention to how each module is graded. We provide details about the grading rubric for each module.

Understand the late work policy. If you know you’re going to be late, contact us ahead of time and ask for a (reasonable) extension. Otherwise, work is accepted up to 48 hours late with 1/2 credit. The full policy is detailed in the syllabus.

🌟Powerups

Your third and final Powerup should be completed at this point. If you haven’t finished them yet, please do so ASAP! More details about Powerups, including a list of all possible Powerups and full details on the timing of Powerups, is available here.